A couple of questions.

Hello all,

I have been a lurker for awhile, and love the site.

I am going to check out a 1973 Maverick tomorrow, and have a couple of questions. I haven't seen the car or pictures as the owner doesn't have a camera, but from the description it has a boss 302 paint scheme of some sort and I believe a floor shifter, as well as a '71 or '72 Grabber hood.

The VIN is 3K91F272020. If I looked at the description correctly at http://home.comcast.net/~petebre/maverick/decode/1973.html, then it is not a Grabber, but it does have a stock 302. I thought only Grabbers got this engine option, am I wrong?

Also, how do I identify whether or not it is a numbers matching car?

The car lived from what I understand most of its life in Arizona, but what are typical (and maybe not so typical) areas of concern to look out for?

Thanks for any help and feel free to cover anything else I should check.

 

to answer your first question. Most Grabbers were actually 6 cylinders. The V8 was an option on any maverick or comet.

The vin you listed is not a true Grabber. A true grabber will have 93 in for the 3rd and 4th numbers

 

'73 non Grabber 2 door, built at Kansas City, with a 302.

 

Thanks for the info. I just got off the phone with the seller. He doesn't live where the car is parked, but he had to make a trip out there anyway so I got some more information from the car.

Body 62A / Color 3B / Trim BB / Trans W / Axle 6 / DSO 75

I don't need this decoded, I just thought I would post it. The car seems to have a grabber spoiler as well. Also, someone put in a Hurst Promatic shifter.

I will take pics tomorrow while checking it out. If I can't decide right away, I'll come back and get some advice.

Thanks again for all and any help,

 

Thanks Acornridgeman. Another thing I am concerned about is the cars cracked windshield. Is it difficult to find replacement glass, preferably OEM?

The history of the car as I know it so far is that the current owner's father owned it for 16 years in Arizona. He died 10 years ago, and left it to his daughter. It has been sitting for the past 10 years some of which was in Arizona and the remainder here in Texas.

Hopefully it will be pretty solid, (well hopefully it will be "rust free"as long as I'm hoping), other than the small amount of suface rust I already know about. It needs tires, complete tune-up, and the carb cleaned which I will just rebuild since I enjoy that kind of thing. The engine ran as of 4 months ago when the car was moved a few miles to the father-in-law's house.

They're asking $2500. I will get plenty of pictures and post up what I can. So what do you guys think?

 

the glass you can get at any glass shop!
My car was a Arizona car and it was mostly rust free just the passenger floor pan was bad. Hope you get lucky with the minimal rust like it did

Something that is bad about Arizona/California cars is the interior, the sun will destroy them pretty quick

 

A few pics! And many details, and questions.

So I finally got out to see the '73 Maverick (after losing the A/C belt on my celica halfway there). I don't think you can see it in the pic, but the most depressing thing is the small bump in the center of the hood from the air filter bolt.

It mostly only seems to have surface rust. There is one spot per door on the lower rear corners, about as big around as my index finger, of bubble the paint rust. I peeled it on one door and it is well into the metal, but still small around.

The rear bumper has been pushed into the body, but it doesn't seem to have caused any serious damage. The side portions of the spoiler on the driver's side is not aligned with the body very well as you can see. There is a minor bit of body damage there.

I have never seen another '73 in person, is the body portion under the rear bumper supposed to look like that?

Also, the doors, hood, and trunk lid (the lid not just spoiler is off of a 1970 grabber) need to be rehung with attention to gaps.

More to come, and input is more than welcome and needed.
Thanks.

 

Well I can't seem to upload any more pics right now, but the details are as follows:

It has been sitting for pretty near 10 years.

The engine: I heard it run, but throttle has to be held to keep it going. No unusual noises (rattles, taps, thumps etc.). It has performer 289 intake, what is I guess the stock Holley carb, and very rusty headers. It was an A/C car, but everything has been removedunder the hood.

Suspension: I would rebuild just to be sure.

Brakes: converted to front disc

Seats: cadillac cimarron

The rearview mirror is about 2 feet long, and sectioned into about 4 smaller mirrors set at different angles. I have no idea what or why.

So overall it seems pretty solid and straight. The owner will take $2000, and I might be able to get them lower, but not sure. The car needs a bit of work to be road worthy, but I can do all the heavy lifting.

So if you stayed with me this far what is your opinion.

Thank you,

 

I say buy it!!!!

 

I think it's a good starting point and $2k is a fair price, myself.

 

Check out the front torque boxes, if they're rusted out, walk away quickly. Been sitting 10 years, probably gonna need brakes, carb rebuilt, etc. I'd offer about $1500 & see what he says...

 

if you buy that car and replace that windshield buy this as well http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-7...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5d27e14342 if its an az car its probably dryrotted like mine was

 

More pics.

I deleted the pics earlier in the thread so I could upload some more.

I appreciate all the input guys. I called him back yesterday, and said I was going to wait and look around a bit more. He called me today and said I could have it for $1500.

However, Tim has me worried. The car doesn't seem to be too terribly rusty, but I had no idea what a torque box was until I looked it up after his post. As far as whether or not I'm going for a custom or factory restoration, since the car isn't an original grabber and I want a grabber, it's going to be more custom. It's about 1 1/2 hours away so I'll try to get back out there with a magnet and also take a look at the torque boxes. In the meantime I'll upload some of the pics of the underside I took so you can see what there is to see. They are not the best pics and pretty much were taken at random, but if you see something worth mentioning let me know.